


Under the Moon's Light

by Luluw5



Series: Moonstruck [2]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Hurt/Comfort, Not Canon Compliant, but not like a lot of hurt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-03
Updated: 2020-02-03
Packaged: 2021-02-28 07:14:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22549891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Luluw5/pseuds/Luluw5
Summary: When the stars don't shine, we ask the moon to fill the darkness.
Relationships: Tsukishima Kei & Yamaguchi Tadashi
Series: Moonstruck [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1616644
Kudos: 12





	Under the Moon's Light

The world was bright today. The ever-present sea of stars behind Tadashi’s eyelids ebbed and flowed peacefully. The soft spheres of light he had grown accustomed to seeing traveled in groups and pairs, bumped up against one another, passed by without interference as real stars could not. They came in all different colors; pastels were common, but so were brilliant blues and reds, rich greens, royal purples. When Tadashi caught sight of the light he had been waiting for, a smile broke over his face. Tsukishima’s enormous silver aura turned a corner and captured all of Tadashi’s attention. He opened his eyes and waved the tall boy over.

“How were classes?” Tadashi queried as his friend sat down.

“About as interesting as usual,” he replied, shrugging the backpack off of his shoulder as he settled heavily into the plastic chair opposite Tadashi’s. “The professor was woefully underprepared for a discussion about notable women artists during the renaissance, which is about what I expected from the geezer.”

“Were there a lot of women painting during the renaissance?” Tadashi asked over the rim of his mug.

“Not according to most art history teachers,” Tsukishima replied, waving down a waiter and placing an order for strawberry shortcake. Tadashi had been quick to learn that this was his favorite confection. He sipped his tea and leaned back in his chair.

“Well, can you tell me about them?”

That was enough prompting for Tsukishima to launch into a 20 minute spiel about the social dynamics that kept women’s artistic achievements from being acknowledged in Italy in the 1600s. Tadashi nodded along, keeping up for the most part. Tsukishima was chronicling Lavinia Fontana’s accomplishments when he abruptly broke off, attention elsewhere. His eyes narrowed, peering over Tadashi’s shoulder, and then he ducked down and pulled his phone from his bag. Tadashi looked behind him for some sort of offence, but other than a bunch of normal people milling about and an unassuming storefront declaring itself to be ‘Shimada Mart,’ there was nothing there.

He turned back to face Tsukishima, confusion written across his face. The other boy was already speaking on the phone. 

“I’d like to report a petty theft outside of Shimada Mart–” As Tsukishima relayed the details of their location to what Tadashi could only assume was a police dispatcher, he looked around again trying to find this elusive thief that neither he nor the copious people around them seemed to notice. Unsuccessful, he turned back to Tsukishima with a raised brow.

“What petty theft?”

Tsukishima delicately lifted a forkful of cake to his mouth and made Tadashi wait for an answer while he chewed. 

“That man with the red hat–” Tsukishima gestured with his fork “–is planning to steal a lady’s purse. I believe that one with long brown hair.”

Tadashi looked to where he was pointing and did indeed see a rather twitchy looking man with a red brimmed hat peering at a brunette woman in a heavy coat who was sitting at a table behind them. As she got up to leave, Tadashi noticed that she had a large, expensive looking handbag.

“How do you know he’s going to–” Before he could finish his question, the twitchy man lunged forward, pulled the woman’s purse from her grasp, and made a break for it. It looked like he was heading for a narrow alley next to the Shimada Mart, but before he reached his escape a surprisingly fast police officer with short brown hair headed him off from an adjacent street. When Tadashi tore his eyes from the scene, he found Tsukishima calmly finishing his dessert. The sight made his mouth twitch up into a grin.

“So is that your power? Here I thought you’d never tell me about it.”

“Just because I don’t like entertaining your endless questions doesn’t mean I was never going to tell you,” Tsukishima sighed, pushing his glasses back into place. “I can hear people’s surface thoughts.”

“You can read minds?!” Tsukishima met Tadashi’s outburst with a warning glare.

“I can hear thoughts. It’s hardly the same.”

“That’s so cool!” Tadashi couldn’t help but exclaim, in spite of Tsukishima’s expression. “Does that mean you can tell what all these people are thinking?”

“Yes, though I try not to.”

“What am I thinking right now?” Tadashi asked, leaning his arms on the table. Tsukishima seemed annoyed, but humored him anyway.

“Puppies, me, cherry blossoms– Are your thoughts always this disjointed, Yamaguchi?” 

Tadashi grinned sheepishly. “Wouldn’t you know?”

“Unlike _some_ people, I keep my sense to myself. I block out what I can.”

Tadashi blushed, but his curiosity won over the threat of further pointed remarks. 

“But when you do listen, it’s when people need help.”

Tsukishima was silent for a moment, pushing crumbs around his empty plate.

“Yes,” he said finally.

By this point, the officer had the thief in handcuffs, and was walking him past their café. Tadashi thought he saw the cop’s eyes linger on his friend for just a moment, and on a whim closed his eyes. The police officer’s deep red aura flared to life, surprisingly large. Tadashi’s watched him, eyes open once more, until he faded away into the crowd.

“Do you like a man in uniform?”

Tadashi refocused on Tsukishima, cheeks growing hot. 

“No! Stop that. Tell me more about your power.”

“No.”

“Please?”

“Still no.”

“Fine,” Tadashi huffed. “Then will you finish telling me about Lavinia Fountain?”

“That is not her name, but yes I wouldn’t mind talking about her.”

Tadashi smiled and settled back in his chair, content to listen to Tsukishima talk, even if he wasn’t really acquainted with the subject matter. Tadashi found that Tsukishima’s gestures were always more animated than his face or his tone of voice. For the next few hours they chatted, traded gossip about their respective classmates, argued over whether short girls were cuter than tall girls (Tsukishima was eventually able to convince Tadashi of the advantages of having a tall significant other), and as the sky began to dim, Tadashi persuaded Tsukishima to hang around for a quick dinner. And then dessert. After that, with the stars long in the sky, they parted ways.

“Are you going to your peeping hill?” Tsukishima asked, zipping his jacket up to his chin.

“I wish you wouldn’t call it that,” Tadashi grumbled, face rosy from the evening chill. “But yes. I’ll text you later.”

“‘Kay,” Tsukishima said, and walked away down the empty street. It was late enough that most of the shops in the market district were closed, with the exception of a few convenience stores. He preferred empty streets. Less ambient noise, and the only thoughts in his head were his own. Blissful silence. 

* * *

The next day, they met at a bookstore instead of a cafe. Tsukishima was there when Tadashi arrived, leaning against the front window and scrolling on his phone. Tadashi tried thinking his name really hard to see if he would notice. After mentally shouting at him five or six times, Tsukishima looked up and scowled. Tadashi grinned and closed the distance between them.

“You’re going to be insufferable now, aren’t you?”

“You’ve called me worse,” Tadashi quipped, holding the door open. Tsukishima sighed heavily as he passed. “Have you been here before?”

“No,” Tsukishima replied. He looked around, taking in the tall, dark wood shelves and soft lighting. “But it seems nice.”

“I think you’re going to like it,” Tadashi assured. He used to come to this store all the time in high school, though it wasn’t very well-known. At first it was just to get school books, but he discovered far more interesting things, like old folklore and mythology in their original languages, and special editions of classics bound in leather and edged with gold. This store was a treasure trove. He thought Tsukishima would appreciate it.

“Where should we start?” Tadashi asked. 

Tsukishima shoved his hands in his pocket, and shrugged. “Which is your favorite?” A wide grin broke over Tadashi’s face at that.

“The manga section. It’s upstairs.”

“Alright. I’ll follow you.”

The store was fairly open. There weren’t large displays crowding the floor, save for the magazine stands by the register, and the wall space was dominated by the bookshelves. There was a small staircase leading to a level where the tops of the first floor shelves could be reached, and another, larger staircase that promised a second floor. Tadashi took them up the smaller staircase that would lead to their section. Glancing over the railing, Tadashi counted the heads of the shoppers below. There was only one that he could see, and the cashier. Not too many people to disturb them. Tsukishima seemed more engrossed by the titles they were passing, which made Tadashi glad. As his friend perused, Tadashi went back to the railing overlooking the store floor. He closed his eyes and noticed that there may have been a couple more people beneath him, hidden from his eyes but not from his other senses. When he opened his eyes again, he saw something that confused him.

“Hey, Tsukki,” Tadashi called, “come here a minute.”

“I told you not to call me that,” Tsukishima said, but he walked over to stand beside his friend. “What’s wrong?” He asked, observing Tadashi’s pinched brows and downturned mouth.

“I just, can’t see anything. In that guy.” Tadashi pointed to a burly looking man in a fur-lined coat with an upturned collar who was standing by the door as though he had just walked in. He wore a striped winter hat pulled low over his eyes, obscuring his face.

“You can’t see anything? You mean his light or whatever?” Tsukishima asked. Tadashi nodded, worrying his lower lip between his teeth. “Has this happened before?”

“No, but, I also don’t notice everyone around me all the time.” If only Tsukishima had that luxury. Still, this seemed to be making Tadashi anxious, and that made Tsukishima more than a bit put out.

“Alright, one second.” Tadashi watched as Tsukishima turned his gaze to the man and appeared to concentrate. His face turned grim. When he turned back to Tadashi, he gestured for both of them to step away from the railing.

“He’s a violent type,” Tsukishima said in a low voice. “I hate listening to those kinds of thoughts. It doesn’t seem like he’s going to try anything here, but-”

“That’s good...but it doesn’t explain why I can’t see him,” Tadashi insisted, his voice taking on a nervous edge.

“You said your power shows you the potential someone has to help you, right, Yamaguchi?” He nodded. “Then maybe, in this case, there is nothing in that man that would drive him to help you at all.” This made his friend grow quiet. He looked to be thinking very seriously about Tsukishima’s words. Something clearly was troubling him. Without meaning to, Tsukishima began listening in.

Tadashi’s thoughts came to him like a movie reel. At first it was all color and light, bright globes and tiny sparks in every shade imaginable. Tsukishima realized this must be how Tadashi saw things through his power. There were faces too. A woman with a bright smile who glowed green like grass. She had freckles like Tadashi, his mother maybe. And some kids, not older than six or seven, standing above him. They had auras too, small ones that became visible as Tadashi closed his eyes against the blows that they rained down upon him. 

Tsukishima stopped listening then. He was intruding; he knew this, and he felt ashamed. He wouldn’t tell Tadashi that he had pried into his private thoughts. It wasn’t long before his friend spoke.

“I guess it didn’t occur to me that those kinds of people existed. I thought everyone had something in them that, I don’t know, made helping others come naturally. Maybe that was naive of me.” Tadashi’s eyes were fixed on the ground, and his expression was far too solemn.

Tsukishima said, “I don’t think that’s naive. Humans evolved to live in a society. Empathy is second nature to most people because that goes hand in hand with survival. And with people who don’t experience empathy naturally, it can be learned.” Tadashi was looking up now, drinking in his words. Tsukishima cleared his throat and continued, “It’s those who make a point not to practice empathy, and those people are very rare, who become so incapable of it that they couldn’t bring themselves to do something for a stranger. Maybe that’s why you can’t see him, Yamaguchi.”

Tadashi chewed his lip. It didn’t quite sit right with him, not Tsukishima’s explanation necessarily, but the idea that someone wouldn’t help another person in need, wouldn’t care to. Tadashi had always taken solace in the fact that everyone around him had their own glow. It had meant that no matter how much trouble he was in, no matter how scared he might be, there was still hope that someone would be kind, and helpful. But what if he got in trouble and he couldn’t find a light? The possibility of facing that kind of darkness made Tadashi’s body grow still.

Tsukishima, noticing his friend’s continued silence, added in a soft voice, “I’ve heard it. When I’m around people. So many of them decide to help without even thinking about it. People can be annoying, and disgusting, but there’s a lot of good there too.”

Tadashi breathed long and slow, then closed his eyes. Around him, Tsukishima’s aura unfurled in brilliant silver strands, large enough to surround them both. He knew his friend would be watching him with a guarded expression, and maybe even some concern. Tadashi moved a little closer to him and smiled.

“Yeah, there must be a lot of good in the world, if even you’re going to admit it, Tsukki.”

  
  



End file.
